Anal Sex Toy Safety

Anal sex toys can be an amazing addition to your sexual toolbox. They come in a huge variety of shapes, styles and purposes, each with their own feelings and benefits. One thing is consistent across all of them though. You need to make sure you are using them safely to avoid causing yourself any permanent damage.

Dangers of Anal Sex Toys

Now we don’t want to scare you. For the most part using sex toys anally as part of your sexual routine is a perfectly safe, healthy, and pleasurable thing to do. There are however, some key things to looks out for to make sure you stay safe. Some of these will be warning signs given off by your body, while others will simply be tips on how best to use your toys.

Perhaps the most common thing you might hear about anal sex from people is that it hurts. While this can be true, it usually only hurts because you do something wrong. Whether it’s being too rough, going to big too quickly, or some other kind of mistake, there’s a reason it’s hurting and usually it can be avoided by taking things slow, and gradually [training your anus]<link to anal training with sex toys] to accept larger objects.

The anus and its surrounding area are packed to the brim with sensitive nerve endings. Stimulation of these is what makes anal sex feel good. Improper stimulation though, can lead to abrasions, tears, and in the worse cases even a little anal bleeding.

One big thing is usually the main factor in this: Lubrication.

Don’t forget to lubricate!

The anus itself doesn’t produce any natural lubricant, unlike the vagina. Our bodies didn’t originally intend for us to be putting things up there, so it has no way of preparing itself for it. This is where lubricants come in incredibly useful.

Lubricants normally come in one of three varieties, silicone based, oil based, and water based. While in vaginal intercourse your main consideration on which lube to use will be based on what kind of toy you are using, in anal intercourse you’re going to want something a little more robust. Oil based lubes generally tend to be the winner here, as they are very long lasting when compared to water based lubes, and are safe with all kinds of sex toys you might use. They aren’t safe to use with condoms though, so if you need to wrap anything then it’s best to go with a different type. If you want to go the whole distance, you can pick up a specially formulated lube specifically for anal play.

Good Anal Hygiene

Another important consideration when engaging in any type of anal play is hygiene. Butts store poop. We all know this, so let’s get it out there right now. When you start sticking things in there, you might just run across this poop. We cover a bit more on how to avoid this in our articles on douching, enemas and cleaning your toys. In terms of safety though, it should be quite obvious that a place that poop lives is going to be full of all kinds of germs and bacteria.

Should the worst happen and you manage to tear your anal lining, or if a penis has a cut or scratch on it, then when things are inserted into this bacterial haven then it’s quite likely that you might get an infection of some kind. Similarly, the objects you are putting into the anus can also cause infection as the thin rectal walls absorb bacteria from the surface of the object, so fingers and sex toys alike need to be nice and clean before anal use.

STIs and STDs are much easier to transfer anally than vaginally too. The lack of lubrication in the anus means that it is much harder for the body to cleanse this area of the nasty stuff. Although if you’re engaging in any kind of sex without protection then you’re kind of asking for trouble from STIs and STDs anyway.

If you suffer from any abrasions or short-term damage to your anus or rectum, or if you know you or your partner are suffering from an STI or STD, then it’s always better to give the anal play a break until you’re fully recovered. Your butt isn’t going anywhere!

Anal Prolapse

Yet another negative part of anal sex that has been vastly blown out of proportion. Now I’m not going to say it’s impossible. If you’re inserting large objects into your butt, and being very rough with them, then it’s entirely possible that you could have an anal prolapse. If you’re being careful and gentle though, it’s very unlikely.

What is more likely though, is a long-term loosening of your sphincter muscles. There are two rings of muscles around the opening of your anus, called the sphincters. These muscles, alongside the pelvic floor muscles, control the opening and closing of your anus and control bowel movements. The looser they become, the easier it is for things to leak out involuntarily.

If you are regularly engaging in anal sex, your sphincters will gradually loosen, making it easier for a penis or sex toy to pass through. If you let this happen long term then eventually you’re going to have incontinence problems. Luckily though, sphincter looseness can be dealt with by regularly performing Kegel exercises to tighten the pelvic floor back up.

Toys getting stuck

The big one. Thoughts of things getting stuck in your butt can haunt people so much that they refuse to even attempt to put anything up there. Try not to be put off though, as some simple precautions can make sure it never happens to you.

The anus and rectum aren’t only good at pushing things out. If something manages to pass through the sphincters and in to the rectum proper, the muscles will continue pushing it upwards. Eventually it will reach your colon, where it usually will require surgery to remove.

Avoiding this is extremely simple though. Any toy or object you insert into your anus needs to have a base. These should preferably be flared, and can come in a variety of styles like T-bars, which sit between your butt cheeks, or even with jewels inset so your anus looks pretty while holding your chosen object.

In the event that you chose to put something without a base in, and it’s travelled a little too far, don’t worry! All isn’t quite lost yet. The biggest thing you can do at this point is not to panic. Tensing up will only serve to contract your muscles further, pushing your toy deeper inside.

The first thing you should do is apply some extra lube. Making sure everything is nice and slippery will make it easier for the toy to pass back out. You can then try to fish around inside (getting someone else to do this is much easier), or place one leg on the toilet and push your insides as if you are having a poo.

If you still can’t get it out, then it’s time to seek medical help. This is nothing to be embarrassed about. Medical professionals are there to help us, and you definitely shouldn’t leave a foreign object inside your body just because you’re too ashamed to go to the hospital. Once it’s out and the memory is a little less fresh, you’ll probably laugh about it anyway.

Wear and tear on your toys

All of these tips so far have been mostly related to how you use, or clean your toys. The actual object itself though can have some safety implications, so it’s important to know what to look for on your toys.

Before every use, you should give your toys a good once over. You want to make sure that there are no seams leftover from the manufacturing process, as these can be quite sharp. Signs of wear can also become apparent if you notice rough areas of the surface, or even chunks coming off, missing, or sticking out.

If you find anything, the best thing you can do is replace the toy. Putting something a little worn out into your body makes it much more likely that some kind of damage is going to occur. It might be a little expensive to replace your toys regularly, but it’ll be much more expensive to replace your rectum.

With all that in mind, you should be about ready to get going with anal play. Obviously, we don’t want you to spend every moment of your sexual experience worrying about the dangers, but it is always useful to have things like this in the back of your mind. For the most part though, buy a quality sex toy with a flared base, lubricate well, and take your time. Follow these three simple steps and the chances of something bad happening during anal sex is incredibly low, so you’re free to enjoy all the new and interesting sensations.